Dam, retaining-wall,breakwater, &amp; c.



,-No. 643,488, Patented Feb.' I3, |900.

J. s. nimma.

DAM, RETAINIKNG WALL, BREAKWATER, &c

(Application led Apr. 13, 1899.)

ATTORNEY.

we Nonms PETERS co, Pnomumo.. wAsmNTnN, o4 c f ATENT FFICE.

JOHNS. FIELDING, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

DANI, RETAlNlNG-WALL, BREAKWATER, 860.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,488, dated February 13, 1900.

Application tiled April 13, 1899. Serial No. 712,878. (No model To a/ZZ whom it may concern.:

Beit known that I,JOHN S. FIELDING,a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dams, Retaining -Walls, Breakwaters, and other Similar Structures, of which the following is a speciication.

My invention relates to the construction of dams,breakwaters,retaining-walls,and other like structures; and my object is to adapt thereto the truss principles of bridge construction in such manner that no section of the dam or wall is dependent on its own inertia for resisting pressure, as is the case when constructed under methods now in vogue. When erected in accordance with my plans, each and every section, wherever taken and of whatever length,is braced to and forms an integral and inseparable part of the remainder of the dam or wall and of the abutments when the latter are erected.

A further object is to provide an effective system of foundation and abutment drains for collecting and carrying off any water which if unarrested would eveutuate in undermining or washouts. In the construction of such work where a thick body of masonry is required it is customary to erect a solid wall of a thickness to correspond with the duty required of it, as ascertained by resort to the established formulas or as the designers experience and discretion may dictate. In designing my improvement I have had recourse to the usual methods of ascertaining the pressure which the dam or wall is to withstand, and in order that the dam or wall may the better withstand the pressure I have conceived the idea of separating the same into parallel walls, which I unite each to the other and to the foundation by a series of short transverse and diagonal walls or webs, as will be presently more particularly described.

The invention consists of the novel structural features hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of a portion of a dam and an abutment constructed in accordance with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a View, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, taken on broken line 2 2 of Fig. l looking in direction of the arrow. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4- is a sectional detail view.

The dam or wall is of box form and eonsists, essentially, of foundation-wall A, the vertical up and down stream walls B and C, respectively, and the stepped top wall C. All of these walls are integral with each other and continuous from end to end.

The side walls B and C are united at proper intervals by` integral transverse walls D and diagonal walls E, the latter preferably having opposite direction alternately. The end of the dam has integral union with abutment F, as shown in Fig. l.

Triangular spaces G, formed by walls I) and E, may be connected by manholes H, thus providing for interior inspection of the dam or wall from end to end, or said spaces may be filled before erection of the top wall with any suitable material which will add weight, but preferably in the manner shown in Fig. 4, wherein the lower portion of the filling is clay or cheap grade of cement l, followed by a central layer of gravel or cinders J in the plane of weep-holes K in wall C. The remainder of the space may be filled with earth, broken stone, or any other desired material L. The central porous layer J collects any water which may work through the roof or side walls and discharges it through holes K.

As a further improvement in the construction of dams and retaining-walls I have embodied the use of steel or any suitable metal in the form of trusses embedded in the walls, and in order that the use of metal may be economically practiced I have chosen concrete or beton to take the place of masonry in the construction of the walls. The trusses are four in number, arranged in the four angles of the box-like dam or wall, trusses M and M being at the top and bottom, respectively, of upstream side B and connected by posts N and trusses O and O at the top and bottom, respectively, of downstream side C and connected by posts P. Vertical diagonal rods Q unite trusses M M and posts N, While trusses O O and posts P are united by similar IOO rods. (Not shown.) Vertical transverse diagonals S, embedded in walls D, unite the four trusses transversely, and as a further reinforcement top trusses M and O are united by diagonal rods in walls E, as are also bottom trusses M and O,'as shown at T, Fig. l; The four longitudinal trusses thus arranged, those on the upstream side acting in compression and those on the downstream side in tension, are secured to anchorage I1", embedded in abutment F.

Vithout the steel or iron skeleton a dam or wall of the described construction possesses great strength in that every part thereof is integrally united to and reinforced by every other part, so that if from any cause a portion thereof should become weakened said portion will not yield, being assisted in resisting the strain by other portions of the structure, this being so no matter at what point in the dam the weakness may occur. lVhen metal trusses are introduced, as described, they greatly augment the strength of the dam or wall, and particularly at points of tensile strain, thus increasing the factor of safety at slight additional cost.

Arranged in the longitudinal foundationledges a on the upstream side are porous drains U, V, and V', extending from end to end of the structure and having sufficient slope to discharge into wells U', V', and V in the bank. Drain W, arranged centrally beneath the foundation and porous on its upstream side, discharges into well YV. These drains will absorb any moisture or water that may work beneath the bed of the stream and which otherwise would undermine the foundation, it being impossible owing to the positions of the drains for any water to pass them. Inspection of the wells will disclose whether water is reaching one or all of the drains. The Water is pumped ordrained from the Wells as circumstances may dictate.

To arrest any water that may work around the abutments, I arrange vertical ducts X in the osets or ledges f of the abutment-back and provide these ducts with drains Y, discharging into the tail of the stream. Any moisture or sideworking of water will follow the abutment-walls and must of necessity be taken up and discharged through the ducts before any serious forerunner of a washout can take place.

A dam-retaining wall or other like structure .erected in accordance with the plans herein set forth combines stability and permanency, as it has maximum inherent strength,and the system of drainage precludes under or side working of water Without detection. Should such working of water begin, inspection of the wells will disclose the fact, the particular well where the water is found indicating the drain from which it comes. Pressure can then be reduced until the weak point is located and reinforced.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire .to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An improvement in the construction of dams, retaining-Walls and other like structures, comprising vertical longitudinal cement walls, transverse cement walls uniting the longitudinal walls, and a top wall, substantially as shown and described.

2. An improvement of the character described, comprising an abutment, an anchorage therein, vertical longitudinal walls integral with the abutment and parallel with each other, vertical transverse walls uniting the longitudinal walls, trusses in each longitudinal wall secured to the abutment-anchorage, and truss-uniting struts in the transverse walls, substantially as shown and described.

3. In the construction of dams, retainingwalls and other similar structures, parallel longitudinal walls and connecting transverse walls, weep holes or perforations in the downstream wall, and lling in the cavities between the walls, substantially as shown and described.

4. In the construction of dams, retainingwalls, and other similar structures, the combination of the dam or wall, longitudinal drains at the base thereof, and outlets for the drains, substantiallyas shown and described.

5. In the construction of dams, retainingwalls and other similar structures, the combination of the dam or Wall, a longitudinal drain beneath the foundation thereof and porous on its upstream side, and an outlet for the drain, substantially as shown and described.

G. In the construction of dams, retainingwalls, and other similar structures, the combinaiion of the dam or wall, longitudinal drains at the base thereof,and wells into which the drains discharge, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a dam, an abutment, vertical drains at the inner or bank side of the abutment, and outlets for said drains, substantially as shown and described.

8. In the construction of dams, retainingwalls and other like structures, the combination of separated longitudinal walls, trusses embedded in the walls, transverse members connecting the walls, an abutment, and an anchorage therein for the trusses.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN S. FIELDING.

Vit-nesses:

F. E. GAITHER, J'. M. NESBIT.

IIO 

